conlangfandomcom-20200223-history
Genovian
Melanian is like English; it's based on Romance and Germanic languages. However, Melanian is also greatly influenced by Finnic-Ugric, Slovak, and Asian languages. At one point, it used to be intelligible with speakers of Germanic and Romance languages to some extent, but because of the influence of what seems like every language known to man and the evolution of the vocabulary, it is now less understood at first sight. One would need to really look into the language in order to see where the majority of the vocabulary came from. The most common dialect of Melanian is Standard Melanian, but Brazilian Melanian and the Skandevi dialect is becoming popular among the current generation. A seemingly overwhelming characteristic about the Melanian language is the fact that it has more than twenty optional noun cases. However, although these are optional to use, they are mandatoriliy taught in schools. As said before, the language is influenced by many languages from different groups, such as the doubling of adjectives for emphasis (derived from Thai and Japanese), i.e. "ollanai tristi tristi!" (literally "don't be sad sad!"), "don't be so sad!". The noun cases were inspired by Finnish, and the particles derived from Japanese. = Alphabet = The Melanian alphabet consists of 41 letters: Aa, Ãã, Ąą, Ää, Bb, Бб, Cc, Ćć, Čč, Dd, Đđ, Ee, Ęę, Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Jj, Kk, Ǩǩ, Ll, Łł, Mm, Nn, Oo, Õõ, Öö, Pp, Qq, Rr, Ŗŗ, Ss, Tt, Ŧŧ, Uu, Vv, Ww, Xx, Yy, Zz, Źź Ęę: Shape your mouth into an "ee" shape (as if you were going to say "ee"), but instead say "oo". Yy: Shape your mouth into an "oo" shape (as if you were going to say "oo"), but instead say "ee". The Melanian alphabet makes distinctions between aspirated and unaspirated sounds, so unless you notice these in the English language, it would take time to adjust to the phonology. = Grammar = Pronouns Pronouns vary according to number, gender, and age. The gender and age pronouns in accusative form are the same as they are in nominative form, and are optional to use. Singular Plural Verb Conjugation Verbs are conjugated according to person and time. There are five kinds of verbs: A Verbs - end in two vowels with "a" being the final vowel; aa, ea, ia, oa, ua, etc. (i.e. rakkaa, to love). B Verbs - end in one vowel (i.e. fala, to talk). C Verbs - end with a consonant, but use "a" when conjugating (i.e. hör, to hear). Will be further explained. D Verbs - end with a consonant, but use "e" when conjugating (i.e. seng, to sing). Will be further explained. E Verbs - irregular verbs. Gerund A Verbs, remove the final "a" from the infinitive; B Verbs, do nothing. C and D Verbs, add the corresponding vowel. Then add "-ndo" Ex: rakkaa -> rakkando (singing) fala -> falando (talking) hör -> hörando (hearing) seng -> sengendo (sing Present Tense A Verbs, remove the final "a"; B Verbs, do nothing; C Verbs, add an "a" to the end of the infinitive; D Verbs, add an "e" to the end of the infinitive. Then add... Ex: rakkaa -> rakkan (I love) / rakkat (you love) / rakkau (he/she/it loves) / rakkammi (we love) / rakkatti (you pl. love) / rakkavi (they love) fala -> falan (I talk) / falat (you talk) / falau (he/she/it talks) / falammi (we talk) / falatti (you pl talk) / falavi (they talk) hör -> höran (I hear) / hörat (you hear) / hörau (he/she/it hears) / hörammi (we hear) / höratti (you pl hear) / höravi (they hear) seng -> sengen (I sing) / senget (you sing) / sengeu (he/she/it sings) / sengemmi (we sing) / sengetti (you pl sing) / sengevi (they sing) Past Tense Take the present tense and add.. Ex: rakkaa -> rakkande (I loved) / rakkatte (you loved) / rakkaude (he/she/it loved) / rakkammie (we loved) / rakkattie (you pl loved) / rakkavie (they loved) fala -> falande (I talked) / falatte (you talked) / falaude (he/she/it talked) / falammie (we loved) / falattie (you pl loved) / falavie (they loved) hör -> hörande (I heard) / höratte (you heard) / höraude (he/she/it heard) / hörammie (we heard) / hörattie (you pl heard) / höravie (they heard) seng -> sengende (I sang) / sengette (you sang) / sengeude (he/she/it sang) / sengemmie (we sang) / sengettie (you pl sang) / sengevie (they sang) Past Participle A Verbs, remove the final two vowels of the infinitive; B Verbs, remove the final "a"; C and D Verbs, do nothing. Then add "-is". Ex: kantis/falis/höris/sengis Future Tense Take present tense and add "-a". Ex: rakkaa -> rakkana (I will love) / rakkata (you will love) / rakkaua (he/she/it will love) / rakkammia (we will love) / rakkattia (you pl will love) / rakkavia (they will love) fala -> falana (I will talk) / falata (you will talk) / falaua (he/she/it will talk) / falammia (we will talk) / falattia (you pl will talk) / falavia (they will talk) hör -> hörana (I will hear) / hörata (you will hear) / höraua (he/she/it will hear) / hörammia (we will hear) / hörattia (you pl will hear) / höravia (they will hear) seng -> sengena (I will sing) / sengeta (you will sing) / sengeua (he/she/it will sing) / sengemmia (we will sing) / sengettia (you pl wll sing) / sengevia (they will sing) Conditional Tense Take present tense and add "-si" Ex: rakkaa -> rakkansi (I would love) / rakkatsi (you would love) / rakkausi (he/she/it would love) / rakkammisi (we would love) / rakkattisi (you pl would love) / rakkavisi (they would love) fala -> falansi (I would talk) / falatsi (you would talk) / falausi (he/she/it would talk) / falammisi (we would talk) / falattisi (you pl would talk) / falavisi (they would talk) hör -> höransi (I would hear) / höratsi (you would hear) / hörausi (he/she/it would hear) / hörammisi (we would hear) / hörattisi (you pl would hear) / höravisi (they would hear) seng -> sengensi (I would sing) / sengetsi (you would sing) / sengeusi (he/she/it would sing) / sengemmisi (we would sing) / sengettisi (you pl would sing) / sengevisi (they would sing) Quick Reference Nouns and Noun Cases There are 22 noun cases in Melanian. These are optional to use, but although learning them may be challenging for some, you can make colloquial Melanian easier by doing so. Also, the use of definite and indefinite articles is optional. Gender There are no genders. Plurals Add -t or -at to the end of the noun. Adjectives All adjectives are regular. The comparative form is formed by adding either "-re" or "-ere" to the inflecting stem. Stor (big) -> storere (bigger) Pekien (small) -> pekienere (smaller) Bonne (good) -> bonnere (better) Mal (bad) -> malere (worse) You can also use the word "mer" (more) before the adjective. Storifan = mer stor Pekienifan = mer pekien Bonnefan = mer bonne Malifan = mer mal The superlative of an adjective is formed by adding "-st" or "-est" to the inflecting stem. Stor -> storere -> storest Pekien -> pekienere -> pekienest Bonne -> bonnere -> bonnest Mal -> malere -> malest You can also use the word "mest" (most) before the adjective. Stor -> mer stor -> mest stor Pekien -> mer pekien -> mest pekien Bonne -> mer bonne -> mest bonne Mal -> mer mal -> mest mal In the Melanian language, using a double comparative (e.g. mer lindare, "more beautifuler") or double superlative (e.g. mest lindast, "most beautifulest") is''not'' grammatically incorrect. It actually emphasizes the adjective. Adverbs To make an adjective into a adverb, add "-menne" or "-imenne" to the end of the adjective. Furta (dread) -> Furtamenne (dreadfully) =Similarities Between Melanian and English= Considering Melanian and English both descend from Latin and Germanic languages, they're a lot more similar than one would think. This especially applies to the endings of words. Another thing the Melanian language is infamous for is the existence of two words for one meaning, with one being from the Latin/Romance roots and the other being from Germanic/Scandinavian/Other roots. There can also be an originally made word. Example: Conclusion = konkluzja and endesegening Vendor = vendor and sellare Romantic = romantiki ''and ''rakkataina A benefit to this would be that foreigners learning Melanian whose main tongue is of Latin, German, Nordic, or Finnic-Ugric derivation will have no problem undertaking the language. = Example Texts = Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights English All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. Lang Melanja (Long Melanian) Tutt manusajat naskovie kratis ja ekval digniŧassa ja rittatissa. Olekki endovande met raźja ja konsjensy ja sku aktaa esaralle kaistissa irmansapin. Choppande Melanja (Chopped Melanian) Tutt manusajat naskovie kratis ja ekval na digniŧa ja rittat. De olekki endovande met raźja ja konsjensy ja sku aktaa ti esara na en kaisti di irmansap. Category:Languages